Even as a Starwood Plat for some years and as much as it's my main frequent-stayer programme, the above is often not true. There are properties in which I stay often say 20-30 nights a year (admittedly at the cheapest Hot Escapes rates) who have never upgraded me to a Suite. Yes I'd get upgrades to the best room sure, but not suites. My experience is that upgrades to suites in Starwood without using SNAs, is dependent on the property (how often you stay, how many suites they have in the first instance, how long that particular stay would be etc.) rather than the programme per se. Even using SNAs is often a crapshoot if you are visiting at high (ish) season.